Hinged claw watch bracelet



Jan. 21, 1958 R. LANCASTER 2,820,275

HINGED CLAW WATCH BRACELET Filed April 20, 1955 2 Shegata-Sheet 1 MVW 21, 1958 R. LANCASTER HINGED CLAW WATCH BRACELET I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 20, 1955 4 Tram/5x5.

2,820,275 HINGED CLAW WATCH BRACELET Ralph Lancaster, Westbury, Conn., assignor to Benrus Watch Company, Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application April 20, 1955, Serial No. 502,542

12 Claims. (Cl. 24-265) This inventionrelates to a watch bracelet of the hinged claw or hinged talon type. a

In one known form of watch bracelets of the hinged claw or talon type, the opposite talons or claws of the bracelet which encircle the wrist of the user are made to hinge or pivot about an axis lying in the outer wall or top surface of the bracelet to avoid or minimize separation of the hinged parts along the top surface during opening of the bracelet. In this form, however, the structural elements which make up the hinge or pivot are likewise located in the outer wall or top surface of the bracelet, and thus exteriorly of the bracelet, with the disadvantageous result that the hinge parts, being visible, detract from the decorative effect desired for the bracelet exterior. In another form of such bracelets, where it is desired to render invisible the structural elements of the hinge, the pivot axis is arranged or located within the bracelet parts, but then the parts pivot about an axis lying below the top surface of the bracelet with the disadvantageous result that the hinged bracelet parts separate along the top surface of the bracelet and present an unsightly break thereat during opening of the bracelet.

The prime object of the present invention centers about the provision of a watch bracelet of the hinged claw type in which the talons or claws pivot about axes lying in the outer surface or wall of the bracelet, the hinge structure for which, however, is so arranged as to be made invisible, and is concealed and located within orinteriorly of the watch bracelet parts. By means of this structure the exterior appearance of the bracelet is enhanced, and improved decorative designs may be imkind is the subject of the U. S. Patent No, 2,780,400, issued February 5, 1957, to Ralph Lancaster and Norman Slater. The present invention has for its more particular objects the following improvements thereto:

(1) This hinged claw bracelet comprises opposite end sections extending from the watch casing and claw sections attached to the end sections and pivotally movable with reference thereto in the manner above set forth. Each end section of the bracelet of the present invention is made to comprise an adaptor device for enabling the hinged claw bracelet part to be readily attachable to or detachable from, to be locked to or unlocked from, the

pin bar or spring bar and lugs of many standard mens watches;

(2) The adaptor device is constructed so that the end section as well as the claw section is pivotally movable with reference to the watch casing, thereby permitting a wider expansion and contraction of the claw bracelet to take place;

(3) Each end section with its adaptor device is so devised that the pivotal movement of the end section with reference to the watch casing is effected by means of hidden or concealed hinge parts and with little or no separation or break taking place at the top of the bracelet during the opening of the. bracelet; and

2,s2c,275 Patented Jan. 21, 1958 (4) The parts of claw and end sections are so organized that a single spring is made operative on both the pivoted claw section and the pivoted end section to restore the same to their wrist encircling or contracted condition.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing objects and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the hinged claw watch bracelet as sought to be defined in the appended claims taken together with the following specification and the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figs. land 2 are perspective views of a watch. bracelet embodying the present invention and depicting the character of the exterior designs that may be imparted to the watch bracelet with the employment of the structure of the present invention; Fig. 1 showing the bracelet in the fully expanded condition and Fig. 2 showing the same in the fully contracted condition; Y Fig. 3 is a perspective view in exploded form showing the watch casing and the parts making up one side of the claw bracelet;

Fig. 4 is a side elevational view taken on an enlarged scale with parts shown in section of the watch casing and the other end claw parts of the bracelet; and

i Fig. 5 is a plan view of Fig. 4 with parts shown in section.

- Referring now in more detail to the drawings and having reference first to Figs. 1 and 2 thereof, the hinged claw or talon bracelet of the present invention comprises, when associated with a watch to which the bracelet parts are attached, a watch casing W, end sections E, E detachably attachable pivotally to the watch casing W and opposite talon or claw sections C, C pivotally or hingedly attached to the end sections E, E. The claw and end sections of the bracelet are pivotally movable with reference to each other and with reference to the watch casing W between the fully expanded condition shown in ere'nce to the end sections E, E about axes a, a lying in parted to the outside bracelet parts. A bracelet of this the top surface of the bracelet parts whereby no separation or break occurs at the bracelet top during opening or closing movement of the bracelet parts as is clearly depicted by reference to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings; the end sections E, B being also so pivotally movable with reference to the watch casing W as to cause the end sections to pivot about axes coincident with the inner edges b, b of these end sections. The results are that an exterior design is obtained such that the contiguous talon and end sections of the bracelet may be made to appear flush or continuous and without separation or break at all times and such that substantially no longitudinal separation or break occurs at any time at the juncture of the end sections E, E with the watch casing W.

The watch casing W is formed at its opposite ends with the usual lugs 10, 10 extending therefrom and the pin bar or spring bar 12 mounted in the lugs. This type or form of mens watch is of a standard construction; and as aforesaid it is a feature of the present invention to so construct the bracelet that the opposite parts thereof may be readily attached to or detached from the spring :3 dition for .one end of the watch and Figs. .4 and 5 show: ing these parts in attached or assembled condition for the other end of the watch.

The claw section C comprises an arm 14 contoured to encircle the wrist of the user and designed to match the design of the end section E so as to be continuous therewith in the manner referred to above, the .claw section being formed at its attaching end so as to provide a housing for containing parts of the hinging structure of the device. The top contiguous or meeting edge walls of the claw and end sections, namely, the top edge wall 16 of the claw section and the top edge wall 18 of the end section abut each other to form or define the hinged pivot axis a; and the remaining edge walls of the claw section and the .end section also meet in abutting arrange ment when the claws are in wrist encirclingcondition, as is best depicted in Figs. 2 and .4 of the drawingadefining a completely enclosed housing for the parts of the hinged structure now to be described.

For attaching and mounting each claw section C to its end section B to effectuate the results referred to there is provided in one of these sections a part 20 formed with an arcuate cam track having its centerof curvature in the pivot axis a and a cam follower in the other of said sections which is constrained for movement in said cam t a In th i u t at d cons ru t on t e m t c is Provided in the c a sec on Q a d e arn. f lo e is Pr vided n th an t on the e a l d structure of these parts comprising the part 20 talcing the form of n in er ed U-shaped e em n ha n the cam cks :2 for e as arw t slots n i s oppo it P r l l e walls, the cam follower being made in the form of a shaft or pintle 24, the pin-trunnions of which are anchored in the pint le orifices 2 6, 26 formed in the side walls of the end sections E. The part 20 is inserted in the housing part of the claw section C and is attached to the interior walls thereof in any desired manner; and the said part 20 is formed with a downturned element 23 for anchoring one end of a spring 30, the other end of the spring being anchored to a part of the end section B as will be described in more detail hereinafter. The end of the part 20 which protrudes from the claw section C extends into the end section B, the side walls thereof being adapted to move confinedly between the side walls of the end section E and is contoured to permit the smooth hinging motion of the claw section C between its contracted or closed and expanded or open positions.

When the parts thus .far described are assembled as depicted in Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings, the claw section C is normally held in its contracted condition by the tension of the spring 30, and when the claw section C is moved to its expanded or open position it is constrained by the movement of the arcuate tracks 22, 22 and the fixed follower pintle or shaft 24 about the aforesaid axis a from the Fig. 2 to the Fig. 1 position.

The end section B more specifically comprises an inverted U-shaped link part 32 provided with a bottom 34 fixed thereto, the said bottom being formed with the upstanding curved flange portions 36, 35. The inner or watch attaching end of the section E is bifurcated at 38 in its opposite side walls to receive the spring bar 12 in the step of attachment of the bracelet to the watch casing. The end section 13 is further provided with a member 46 mounted in the end section for pivotally and longitudinally slidable movement therein. The member 40 is formed with the upstanding flanged parts 42, 42 corresponding to and for slidable mating with the flanged parts 36, 36 and for anchoring the pin or shaft 44, the said member 40 being further formed at its rear end with an upstanding flange 46 for receiving and anchoring the spring bar 12, for the purposes about to be described.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings where the parts are shown in assembled condition the opposite end of the spring 30 which is made to include the spaced coiled parts'48, 48 is anchored to the pin or shaft 44. By dates an the s rite 3.9 i made to ser e o sie in to. heir contracted positions both the claw section C and the end section E. The pivotal movement of the member 40 is utilized to effect the attachment of the end section B to and the detachment thereof from the watch casing and for locking or unlocking the claw parts to the watch casing in the following Way: The member 40 is formed with a protruding finger engaging nib 50 (at the underneath part of the end section) which may be engaged by the finger of the user to rotate the member 40 in its mounting in the end section between the locking position shown in Fig. 4 and an unlocking position wherein the end section is free to be removed from the watch casing. For mounting the claw bracelet parts to the watch casing the spring bar 12, after being received by the bifurcated ends 38, is engaged and locked in position by the flanged part as of the member 40 when the latter is rotated clockwise as viewed in Fig. 4. The longitudinally slidable movement of the member 40 under the tension of the spring 30 is utilized to enable the end section E to hingedly move substantially about the edge b when the bracelet is moved to its fully expanded condition and therefore about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the end section. This action takes place in the following manner: When the end section E is moved to bracelet expanded condition the pivotal action takes place about the edge b a n t t e o g t di lly mo ble and yielding action of th m m n a ed by he, sp in b 2 n s'ie e by he sp i The manner'of assembling the parts of the watch bracelet of the present invention, the use and operation thereof, and the above recited advantages secured thereby will in the main be fully apparent from the above detailed description thereon. It will be further apparent that changes may be made in the structure illustrated or described without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims:

I claim:

1. In a hinged claw bracelet for a bracelet watch, an end section including means adapted for detachably attaching to same to the pin bar of a watch, a claw section connected to the end section, the claw section having a movement with reference to the end section about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the connected end and claw sections, means for connecting and mounting the claw section to its end section for such movement, said means forming the structural elements for said pivot axis and comprising an arcuate cam track in one of said sections having its center of cu vature in said pivot axis, a cam follower in the other of said sections constrained for movement in said cam track and a spring connecting the said sections active for biasing the claw section to contracted condition on the end section.

2. A hinged claw bracelet for a bracelet watch, comprising an end section including means adapted for tie tachably attaching to same pivotally to the pin bar of a watch, a claw section connected to the end section, the claw section having a movement with reference to the end section about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the connected end and claw sections, means for connecting and mounting the claw section to its end section for such movement, said means forming the structural elements for said pivot axis and comprising anarcuate cam track in one of said sections having its center of curvature in said pivot axis, a cam follower in the other of said sections constrained for movement in said cam track and a spring connecting the said sections active for biasing the claw section to contracted condition on the end section.

3. The hinged claw bracelet of claim 2 in which the means for detachably attaching the end section pivotally to the bar of the Watch comprises a member mounted in sai n sect n o p v tal and l n it d n l y s i a e movement therein to enable both the detachable attachment and the pivotal motion of the end section relative to the pin bar of the, watch to be effected.

4. The hinged claw bracelet of claim 3 in which the said spring is anchored at its opposite ends to the claw section and to said member mounted in the end section.

5. A hinged claw bracelet for a bracelet watch, comprising an end section including means adapted for detachably attaching to same to the pin bar of a watch, a claw section connected to the end section, the claw section having a movement with reference to the end section about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the connected end and claw sections, means for connecting and mounting the claw section to its end section for such movement, said means forming the structural elements for said pivot axis and comprising an arcuate cam track in one of said sections having its center of curvature in said pivot axis, a cam follower in the other of said sections constrained for movement in said cam track and a spring connecting the said sections active for biasing the claw section to contracted condition on the end section, the said means for detachably attaching the end section to the bar of the watch comprising a bifurcated part in the end section for receiving the pin bar and a member movably mounted on said end section for engaging the pin bar and for locking the end section thereto.

6. The hinged claw bracelet of claim 5 in which the said spring is anchored at its opposite ends to the claw section and said movably mounted member, whereby the said end section is adapted to move with reference to the watch about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the end section.

7. In a hinged claw bracelet for a bracelet Watch, an end section detachably attachable pivotally to the pin bar of a watch, a claw section pivotally attached to the end section, a spring connecting the said sections active for biasing the claw section to contracted condition on the end section, and means for detachably attaching the end section pivotally to the pin bar of the watch comprising a part in the end section for receiving the pin bar and a member movably mounted on said end section for engaging the pin bar and locking the end section thereto.

8. The hinged claw bracelet of claim 7 in which the said spring is anchored at its opposite ends to the claw section and to said member mounted in the end section.

9. A hinged claw bracelet for a bracelet watch, comprising an end section adapted to be detachably attachable pivotally to the pin bar of a watch, a claw section pivotally attached to the end section, a spring connecting the said sections active for biasing the claw section to con tracted condition on the end section, and means for detachably attaching the end section pivotally to the bar of the watch comprising a bifurcated part in the end section for receiving the bar and a member movably mounted on said end section for engaging the bar and locking the end section thereto.

10. The hinged bracelet of claim 9 in which the said member is pivotally and slidably mounted on the end section and in which the spring is anchored at its opposite ends to the claw section and said member, whereby the end section is adapted to move with reference to the watch about a pivot axis located at the outer surface of the end section.

11. An adapter attachment for a claw bracelet for a watch comprising a claw bracelet end section detachably attachable pivotally to the pin bar of the watch, and means for eifecting said pivotal and detachable attachment comprising a part in the end section for receiving the pin bar of the watch and a member movably mounted on said end section for engaging the pin bar and locking the end section thereto.

12. An. adapter attachment for a claw bracelet for a watch comprising a claw bracelet end section detachably attachable pivotally tothe pin bar of the watch, and means for effecting said pivotal and detachable attachment including a bifurcated part in the end section for receiving the pin bar and a member pivotally and slidably mounted on said end section for engaging the pin bar and locking the end section thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 354,716 Mason Dec. 21, 1886 1,985,249 Feid Dec. 25, 1934 2,014,713 Baker Sept. 17, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS 851,954 France Jan. 19, 1940 

